Stove Pipe Cleaning Device

ABSTRACT

A stove pipe cleaning device is provided that includes a vacuum unit associated with a stove pipe of a wood burning stove. The vacuum unit also includes a damper that selectively closes the stove pipe wherein debris being cleaned from the interior of the stove pipe will land on the damper. The debris is suctioned from the stove pipe by way of a tube that is interconnected to the vacuum unit. Suction is preferably supplied by a vacuum generating device positioned outside the dwelling.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/293,815, filed Jan. 11, 2010, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to devices forcleaning the exhaust system, i.e., a stove pipe of a wood burning stove.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wood burning heating systems are generally comprised of a stove forburning fuel with an interconnected stove pipe that directs combustiongasses to an outdoor location. The fuel, such as wood, wood pellets,coal, etc., is placed within the stove and burned to produce heat. Theair required for combustion is drawn from areas around the stove intothe stove when blowing air across the open end of the stove pipe createssuction within the stove. The stove pipe includes a damper mechanism,which is commonly a hand-actuated butterfly valve, that selectivelyalters air flow through the stove pipe. That is, movement of the damperalters the size of the opening of the stove pipe and controls the amountof air that is drawn therethrough and, thus, combustion and the amountof heat generated. Products of combustion, i.e., soot and other itemstend to build up on the internal surfaces of the stove pipe. Thesecombustion byproducts are sometimes combustible and may ignite. Thus, itis recommended that wood burning stoves and their associated pipes becleaned one or more times a year to avoid the possibility of a dangerousignition.

Cleaning wood burning stoves generally entails accessing the top of thestove pipe or chimney and inserting a brush to remove any debris.Brushing causes the soot and other debris to fall down the stove pipepast the damper and into the stove. The stove must then be accessed toremove debris and other items. As one of skill in the art willappreciate, stove cleaning is messy wherein soot, ash, dust, and otherdebris will escape and soil the surrounding area regardless of the levelof care exercised by the cleaner.

Thus, it is a long felt need to provide an apparatus for efficientlycleaning a wood burning stove that reduces the amount of ash, debris, orsoot that enters the stove from the stove pipe. The following disclosureis directed to an apparatus for association with a stove pipe thatvacuums the soot therefrom as opposed to allowing it to enter into thestove.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one aspect of the present invention to provide a vacuum unit forpermanent or selective interconnection to a wood burning stove or stovepipe thereof. The vacuum unit includes a tube that is associated with aninterface located on an outer wall of a dwelling, for example. Inoperation, a vacuum is also associated with the wall interface and isused to suction the soot from the stove pipe as opposed to allowing itto fall into the stove.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a system forstarting a stove. More specifically, often if the air flow over the openend of the stove pipe positioned outside of a dwelling is insufficient,the amount of oxygen drawn into the stove will be insufficient to allowcombustion to begin. Accordingly, one embodiment of the presentinvention provides a fan for interconnection to the stove pipe thatbegins air flow through the stove pipe so that combustion can initiate.After combustion has begun, the fan is removed from the stove pipe.

The Summary of the Invention neither is intended nor should be construedas being representative of the full extent and scope of the presentinvention. Moreover, reference is made herein to “the present invention”or aspects thereof should be understood to mean certain devices of thepresent invention and should not necessarily be construed as limitingall embodiments to a particular description. The present invention isset forth in various levels of detail and summary of the invention aswell as in the attached drawings and the Detailed Description of theInvention and the limitation as to the scope of the invention isintended by either the inclusion of non-inclusion of elements,components, etc. in this summary of the invention. Additional aspects ofthe invention will become more readily apparent in the detaileddescription, particularly when taken together with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated and in constant apartof the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the general description of the invention given above andthe detailed description and drawings given below, serve to explain theprinciples of these inventions.

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial elevation view of another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a cross section of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an elevation view of one embodiment of the present inventionthat utilizes a fan to initiate combustion.

To assist in understanding of one embodiment of the present invention,the following list of components and associated numbering found in thedrawings is provided herein:

# Components   2 Vacuum unit   6 Stove pipe  10 Stove  16 Vacuum tube 18 First end  20 Vacuum tube interface  22 Second end  26 Wallinterface  30 Outer wall  34 Damper  38 Handle  42 Locking mechanism  46Arcuate path  50 Vacuum  54 Starter device  58 Cord  62 Plug  66 Firstend  70 Second end  78 Heat shield  82 Bushing  86 Knob  90 Detent  94Stop  98 Cover 102 Swing arm 106 Set screw

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale.In certain instances, details that are not necessary for theunderstanding of the invention or that render other details difficult toperceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, thatthe invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodimentsillustrated herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1-5, a vacuum unit 2 of one embodiment of thepresent invention is shown associated with a stove pipe 6 of stove 10. Atube 14 is also provided that has a first end 18 interconnected to atube interface 20 of the vacuum unit 2 and a second end 22 associatedwith a wall interface 26. The wall interface 26 is shown associated withan outer wall 30 of the dwelling, but could be directly interconnectedto a vacuum system, such as a shop vac.

The tube interface 20 is positioned above a damper 34, which isgenerally a butterfly valve. Although shown as part of the vacuum unit2, one of skill in the art will appreciate that an existing damper canbe used in conjunction with the tube interface 20 without departing fromthe scope of the invention. The angular position of the damper iscontrolled by a handle 38 that travels in an arcuate path 46. A lockingmechanism 42 is used to fix the angular position of the damper 34. Morespecifically, the locking mechanism 42 is used to lock the damper 34either in an opened position, a closed position, or a position betweenthe open position and the closed position. The locking mechanism 42 ofone embodiment of the present invention is a wing nut lock.

To clean the stove pipe 6, the damper handle 38 is moved to a closedposition that closes the stove pipe 6. The portion of stove pipe that ispositioned outside the dwelling is accessed via a ladder and a brush isused to clear debris from the stove pipe interior. The debris falls downthe stove pipe 6 and lands on the closed damper 34. A vacuum 50, whichmay be positioned outside the dwelling and interconnected to the wallinterface 26, is turned on. The pressure drop caused by the vacuum 50suctions the debris through the tube 14. Thus, less debris finds its wayto the stove 10. As one of skill in the art will appreciate, the amountof debris present in the stove 10 is directly related to the potentialmess made. It should also be appreciated that the vacuum 50 may belocated in the dwelling wherein the vacuum is interconnected directly tothe vacuum unit 2 or the tube 14.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the tube 14 may be used tointerconnect directly to the stove 10 to pull soot and debris therefromas well, thereby substantially alleviating the need for shoveling soot,ash, and debris from the stove 10. The wall interface 26 mayinterconnect to a shop vac, for example, or may be directly associatedwith a centralized vacuum system of a dwelling.

The vacuum unit 2 of one embodiment of the present invention isretrofittable. More specifically, the stove pipe 6 of an existing stovemay be cut in two places approximate to the size of the vacuum unit 2.The vacuum unit 2 is then interconnected to the two existing sections ofstove pipe by way of a weld, bolts, or any other common metalinterconnection technique.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, a vacuum unit 2 of another embodiment ofthe present invention for interconnection to a stove pipe 6 is shown.The vacuum unit 2 has a first end 66 and a second end 70 wherein thesecond end 70 is positioned adjacent to the top portion of the stove.The vacuum unit may include a heat shield 78.

The damper 34 is interconnected to the sidewalls of the vacuum unit viabushings 82. Rotation of the damper 38 is provided by a knob 86 that isassociated with a movable detent 90 An exterior surface of the vacuumunit 2 has a plurality of detent stops 94 that receive the detent 86 tofix the angular position of the damper. One skilled in the art willappreciate that the detent 90 may be spring-loaded to facilitate removalfrom one stop and placement into another.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a vacuum port cover 98 isrotatably interconnected to the tube interface 20 via a swing arm 102. Aset screw 106 or other mechanism may be used to hold the vacuum portcover 98 in place. In operation, the set screw 106 is removed orloosened which allows the vacuum port cover 98 to rotate away from thetube interface 20. Next, the tube is interconnected to the tubeinterface 20 and to the vacuum system, similar to that described withrespect to FIG. 1. The damper 34 is then moved via the knob 86 to aclosed position to close the stove pipe. Once a vacuum is created by theinterconnected vacuum and the soot and other debris positioned withinthe stove pipe 6 are removed.

FIG. 6 shows a starter device 54 for interconnection to a stove pipe 6.More specifically, a starter device 54 that employs a low CFM (cubicfeet per minute) fan is interconnected to the stove pipe and is used todraw air into the stove pipe 6 from the area surrounding the stove 10,which begins or facilitates combustion. An electrically-powered fan iscontemplated that is selectively interconnectable to the stove pipe 6via a cord 58 and plug 62.

If used with the vacuum unit described above, one would remove the tubeor a cover that is associated with the vacuum unit and interconnect thestarter device 54. Once the starter device 54 is turned on, air flowwithin the stove pipe 6 begins. After combustion is evident, the starterdevice 54 is removed from the stove pipe 6 and the cover or tube forcleaning is interconnected to the stove pipe 6. One skilled in the artwill appreciate that the starter device may be integrated directly intothe stove pipe.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedin detail, it is apparent that modifications and alterations of thoseembodiments will occur to those of skill in the art. However, it is tobe expressly understood that such modifications and alterations arewithin the scope and spirit of the present invention as set forth in thefollowing claims. Further, the inventions described herein are capableof other embodiments being practiced or being carried out in variousways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology andterminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should notbe regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or“having” in variations thereof is meant to be encompass the items listedthereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.

1. A system for cleaning a wood burning stove comprising: a vacuum unitassociated with a stove pipe, said vacuum unit including a tubeinterface; a tube having a first end interconnected to said tubeinterface of said vacuum unit and a second end associated with a wallinterface that is associated with a wall of a dwelling, said wallinterface also adapted to receive a vacuum cleaner; and wherein saidvacuum unit is also associated with a damper wherein when said damper isin a closed position, debris from the stove pipe is prevented fromentering a stove such that initiation of said vacuum will cause apressure drop in said tube to suction the debris from the stove pipe.